Catholic Charities and poverty

The Evangelist has two important articles about poverty in its most recent issue. The first looks at how cuts in government spending will impact the services of Catholic Charities.

In the Albany Diocese, Catholic Charities officials say the economy and the state’s fiscal uncertainty make progress difficult. Meanwhile, demand on Catholic Charities programs has increased.

This year, Catholic Charities has already served 25,000 more clients than last year. About 100 more people have looked to the agency for emergency assistance, and more families are using food pantries.

Millions of dollars were cut in June for many state programs that keep Catholic Charities running. For instance, the Supportive Housing for Families program, which funds Catholic Charities’ Housing Office program, will lose $2.4 million.

The rest of that article is here.

The second article looks at three people whose lives have been impacted by the work of Catholic Charities.

The Evangelist spent time with three people who have struggled with the anti-poverty priority areas established by Catholic Charities USA: income, education, hunger, health and housing.

The rest of that article is here.